The Chef Juan’s® Family Farm
Twenty five to thirty five acres in Florence County, South Carolina, in the McAllister family since 1941, now being brought back into working production.
The Chef Juan’s® family farm has been in the McAllister family since 1941. Twenty five to thirty five acres in the Goodland Community of Florence County, South Carolina, now being brought back into working production. Family land, chef vision, one plan.
The Farm Story
The Legacy of Pinkney and Lestroy McAllister
The McAllister family legacy finds its roots in the Olive Grove Community of Florence County, South Carolina. Pinkney Oscar McAllister was born in 1908. Lestroy “Coot” Eaddy McAllister was born in 1911. Pinkney left school at nine to help support the family. Lestroy completed the fifth grade before her enterprising spirit turned to work of her own.
They married in 1927 and built a partnership that shaped everything after it. Working side by side, they overcame the era they were born into and built a foundation for their children. In 1941, Pinkney and Lestroy purchased the farm in the Goodland Community and freed themselves from working for anyone else. Two houses, tobacco barns, and unwavering determination. A new life began on that land.
Pinkney farmed. Lestroy ran the household. They raised their children with education as a non negotiable: Mamie went to college, Marvin graduated, Margaree excelled at junior college. Lestroy’s passing in 1951 was a turning point, but the family held. Pinkney married Ethel Johnson in 1952, and the family carried on.
Pinkney was the first Black farmer in the area to use oil burners for tobacco curing, a small innovation that changed local agriculture. He served as a deacon for 41 years, often chairing his congregation. Pinkney passed in 1988. The McAllister family carries on through his descendants, and that farm is why Chef Juan’s® is anchored in Florence, South Carolina.
The Farm Today
The Chef Juan’s® farm is twenty five to thirty five acres in Florence, South Carolina, now being brought back into working production. Restoration is happening through partnerships with Clemson University Extension, South Carolina State University, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Programs cover soil health, cover cropping, pollinator habitat, and long term stewardship of the land.
The land does not supply every Chef Juan’s® event yet. It is not honest to promise it does. What we can promise is that as the farm grows back into production, more of what Chef Juan cooks with will come from Florence County soil his family has worked since 1941.
Family Land, Chef Vision, One Plan
The farm and the brand are not separate projects. As the farm returns to production, Chef Juan’s® catering, personal chef service, and sauce line will source more directly from that land. A wedding menu in Charleston, a boxed lunch in Atlanta, a weekly meal delivered in North Georgia, and a jar of Chef Juan’s® sauce on a grocery shelf all trace back to the same twenty five to thirty five acres in Florence County.
That is what a chef anchored brand looks like. Family land as the foundation, chef vision as the plan.
Farm to Table Catering
When farm production supports a specific event, Chef Juan’s® can build a farm to table menu directly around what is available that season. Pricing is seasonal and custom. See how pricing works →
Talk with Chef Juan
Book a call, request a quote, or write directly to [email protected]. Every event starts with a conversation.